Game apparatus



March 31. 1925. 1,531,783

A. E. HAMPTON GAME APPARATUS Filed March 4, 1922 Patented Mar. 31, 1925.

UNITED STATES ABIJAH E. HAMPTON, OF PITTSTOWN, NEV] JERSEY.

GAME APPARATUS.

Application filed March 4, 1922. Serial No. 541,004.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, ABIJAi-i E. HAMPTON, a citizen of the United States, residing at Pittstown, in the county of Hunterdon and State of New Jersey, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Game Apparatus, of which the following is a specification.

One object of my invention is to provide a novel and amusing game apparatus of a type which can be held in the hands and tilted so as to cause marbles or balls to roll from one place to another; the structure including bafiles so arranged as to render it difficult to roll the balls from one location to another.

predetermined location.

Another object is to make my improved apparatus of a simple construction which can be readily manufactured.

These objects, and other advantageous ends which will be described hereinafter, I

attain in the following manner, reference being had to the accompanying drawings in which Figure 1 is a perspective view of a game apparatus made in accordance with my invention,

Figure 2 is a section taken on the line 22 of Figure 1,

Figure 3 is an enlarged fragmentary section taken through a portion of the apparatus and illustrating how the outer surface can be covered with paper or other sheet material having a configuration printed or otherwise marked thereon.

Referring to the drawing, 4 represents a tray including a bottom plate portion 5 with an upwardly extending surrounding flange 6. This tray 4 can be made of wood or it can be made from pressed composition of light weight and of a size which can be conveniently held in the hands and tilted in any direction desired.

In the form of my invention as illustrated the tray is of rectangular shape and the flange 6 includes side portions 7 and end portions 8. A baffle 9 in the form of a fence is produced within the confines of the flange 6 and said baffle projects upward from the bottom plate portion 5 and if desired can be painted, tinted or covered with paper or other material to represent the fence of a garden. The front wall 10 of the fence is provided with a central opening 11 and the rear wall 12 of said fence is provided with a central opening 13. These openings 11 and 13 represent gates in the garden space within the fence 9 and the upper surface of the bottom plate portion within the confines of the fence has the words Chickens in the Garden printed or otherwise marked thereon. To the rear of the fence 9 is formed an other fence 14 which has a front wall 15 spaced to the rear of the rear wall 12 of the fence 9. The side walls 16 and 17 of the fence 14 project forwardly from the rear end portion 8 of the flange 6 of the tray and stop short of the front wall 15 to provide openings 18 and 19. The wall portions of both of the fences extend upwardly from the top surface of the bottom plate portion 5 of the tray 4 and can be either made of separate pieces of material or can be pressed integrally with the bottom plate portion 5 as shown in Figure 3; the various openings extending upward from the top surface of the bottom plate 5 so that balls or marbles 20 can roll therethrough when positioned on the top surface of the plate portion 5 during the tilting of the device.

The top surface of the plate portion 5 is preferably colored or covered Withpaper or other material such as shown at 21 to represent grass and this representation of the grass can be discontinued to form a space 22 representing a path leading from the front opening or gate 11 of the fence 9 to the openings 18 and 19 of the fence 14. The space within the fence 14 is supposed to rep resent a hen house or chicken house and the balls or marbles 20 are supposed to represent chickens.

The upper surface of the plate portion 5 of the tray within the confines has a wording thereon, such for example as Henhouse and in using the apparatus, the balls 20 can be first located within the confines of the fence 9 and to play a game it is the ob ject to roll, by tilting the tray, the balls out of the confines of the fence 9, or in other words out of the garden into the henhouse and the object is to guide all of the balls into the confines of the fence 14 by rolling them through the various openings. In View of the oppositely disposed openings in the fence 9 and the oppositely disposed openings in the fence 14, it is difficult and takes time to roll all of the balls into the confines of the fence 14 between the side walls 16 and 17 since during the tilting of the tray even though a ball has been moved into the con fines of the fence 14, it is apt to rolldi- Ill).

rectly out through an opposite opening and for this reason the apparatus is amusing and requires skill and patience in order to ac complish the object of the game. Various rules can be made up, such for example as for keeping the hall which is being rolled into the henhouse on the path 22 and com pelling the contestant to roll all of the balls out of the front opening and any balls which pass out of the rear opening 13 must again be rolled into the garden through the rear opening and in this manner the rules of the game can be changed from time to time at the election of the contestants before starting the game and furthermore time limits can be placed so that if a contestant fails to roll all of the halls from the garden into the henhouse within a certain time limit, he or she loses.

\Vhile I have described my invention as taking a particular form, it will be understood thatthe various parts of my invention may be changed without departing from the spirit thereof, and hence I do not limit my self to the precise construction set forth, but consider that I am at liberty to make such changes and alterations as fairly come within the scope of the appended claims.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:-

'1. A game apparatus comprising a baflie forming side and end fence portions and having an opening formed in each of the side fence portions thereof, a second baffle forming side and end fence portions and having openings in the end portions thereof at an angle to the openings in the side fence portions of the first named baflle, and objects adapted to move from the confines of one of said baffles to the confines of the other hallle.

A game apparatus including a base with upwardly extending side and end flanges, fence portions forming side walls extending inwardly from one of the end flanges of the base and in spaced relation with the side flanges thereof, a battle forming a fence arranged in spaced relation with the inward ends ofthe said first named fence portions to provide opposite openinjgs, a second baffle forming side and end fences and located forward of said first named battle and having openings formed in the end fence portions thereof, and objects adapted to move from the confines of one of said battles to the confines of the other baffle through the openings in the fence portions.

8. A game apparatusincluding a base with upwardly extending side and end flanges forming a complete enclosure, fence portions forming side walls extending inwardly transversely from one of the end flanges of the base and in spaced relation with the side flanges thereof, a front wall parallel with said end flange and being spaced from said side walls to form an opening at the end of each of said side walls, a battle forming a rectangular enclosure with side and end fences and located forward of said front wall, said baffle having openings formed in the end fence portions thereof one of which openings is adjacent said front wall, and objects adapted to move from the confines of said baffle through its openings and into said fence through the openings thereof or from said fence into said battle.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification in the presence of two subscribing Witnesses.

ABIJ AH E. HAMPTON. lVitnesses ELIZABETH GARBE, GI-IAs. E. Porrs. 

